Talk pages are supposed to provide a space for improving the article. Are they as useful as they could be? I'll briefly describe some ways Talk pages go wrong, then share some prototype systems. Your feedback is encouraged! http://wikimania2010.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Dynamics_of_Wikipedia_Talk_pages:_serving_the_article,_showing_the_community

1. Digital Enterprise Research Institute
Digital Enterprise Research Institute www.deri.ie
www.deri.ie
Dynamics of Wikipedia Talk pages: serving
the article,
showing the community
Jodi Schneider, Alexandre Passant & John Breslin
WikiMania 2010
2010-07-11
P Gdańsk, Poland
1
© Copyright 2009 Digital Enterprise Research Institute. All rights reserved.
© Copyright 2009 Digital Enterprise Research Institute. All rights reserved.

2. Researcher & Wiki user
Jodi.a.schneider
• WP:en - starting with Talk page edits (2006)
• AcaWiki.org administrator
“Wikipedia for academic research”

3. Can We Make Online
Discussions Better?
http://xkcd.com/386/

4. Overview
• Why Talk pages?
• What we know about Talk pages
- Observation
- Research
- Belief
• My research in Talk pages
• How you can help

5. Overview
• Why Talk pages?
• What we know about Talk pages
- Observation
- Research
- Belief
• My research in Talk pages
• How you can help

7. Fame Monster: Album? EP?
• Why is it considered an EP? With 8 tracks it might as well be an album.
For example, Madonna is an eight-track album. And was a cosensus
reached in order for this to have its own page? --12345abcxyz20082009
(talk) 20:53, 12 November 2009 (UTC)
• Yes consensus was reached that is how it became unprotected and EP
was just the choice of one editor. I wouldn't object to it being an album
since that is what the sources say. Grk1011/Stephen (talk) 20:57, 12
November 2009 (UTC)
• It is NOT an EP. First it was considered a re-release, but then Gaga
herself said shes ripping this and the original "Fame" apart. Therefore,
The Fame Monster will in fact be sold as a single album.

8. Why Talk pages?
• Juicy discussions
Ok, I changed this. What do you think?
• Meant to improve the article
Needs a copyedit!
• Negotiating knowledge
Is Fame Monster an album or EP?

9. Volume: LOTS of conversations
• 78x growth 2003-2005
- Viegas
Te • 6-7% of all edits, 2008
xt - Kittur
Data from Stvilia

10. Overview
• Why Talk pages?
• What we know about Talk pages
- Observation
- Research
- Belief
• My research in Talk pages
• How you can help

11. Talk pages: Observations
- Length
- When is it ok to
• Talk pages are LONG.
challenge previous
discussions
- Old discussions can be
on the page
• Can be used for consensus building.
• Conflict happens, too (productive & not).
• Comments get varying responses (+, -, none),
over hours...days...months.
• Pending & completed tasks may be discussed.
• “we already decided that” - see the archives!

12. Lots of Talk page research!
• Admin candidates: “[User] interactions
need to be helpful and polite.” - Burke
• Uses & Usefulness depend on article stage:
formation, reorganization, maintenance...
- Hansen (uses)
- Kittur & Kraut (usefulness)
“more than half of all
edits in the first week of
an article are made to
the talk page rather
than to the content of
the article” - Kittur &
Kraut

13. Questions, too!
Differences between editions?
• Does culture have an effect on how Talk
pages are used? - Hara
• Volume varies! - Ortega

14. Are Talk pages overhead?
• Talk pages are overhead - similar to fighting
vandals & developing policies (Suh)
• Respect the process: it’s not all overhead.
“The Wikipedian community is
strengthened by the difficult work of
seeking consensus” (Kriplean)

15. Things I believe about
Talk pages Conflict, scalability
• Social fabric matters:
humor, responsiveness, sensitivity.
• Talk pages can surface small communities
around a topic. But there isn’t always one.
• Critical mass matters.
• Their importance may depend on who we
are: readers, new editors, Wikipedians.
• Too much “consensus” can be harmful:
‘we decided already’, ‘see the archives’.

16. Overview
• Why Talk pages?
• What we know about Talk pages
- Observation
- Research
- Belief
• My research in Talk pages
• How you can help

17. My Research Questions
• How and why do Talk pages vary?
• What do Wikipedians (and readers) do on
Talk pages? What tasks are they used for?*
• Can we add structure to make pages “fit”
how editors and readers use them?
*volunteers
needed

18. My Research Questions
• How and why do Talk pages vary?
• What do Wikipedians (and readers) do on
Talk pages? What tasks are they used for?*
• Can we add structure to make pages “fit”
how editors and readers use them?
*volunteers
needed

19. How Talk Pages Vary
Text

24. Why do Talk pages vary?
• Examine 100 Talk pages using 5 categories:
• Most editors (of the article)
• Most visits (to the article)
• Controversial
• Featured Articles
• Random

25. Categorizing comments
• Referencing a(n)... • Requesting...
• edit • editing coordination
• guideline or policy • help elsewhere
• revert or controversy • information about the
topic
• source
• a peer-review
• vandalism
• Also: polls, images, info
• internal resource boxes, off-topic
inspired by Viégas

26. Results
OK.9>$;.2>/1E6>./9O$ OK.9>$=17N9O$ ;.2>/.=7/9138$
Coordination
,!"!!#$ Guidelines, Reverts
Info boxes.
+!"!!#$
*!"!!#$
)!"!!#$
(!"!!#$
Text
Text
'!"!!#$
Other factors: age,
subject area, who
&!"!!#$ contributes, ...
%!"!!#$
!"!!#$
J$
:. 9$
<7 $
?@ >9$
$
$
CK $
9$
$
=17 7$
7$
G7 97N $
$
;$
D. I7/$
9
79
19K
H0 .889
$=3 79>
79
56 .2
7
;7
;7
B1
/
4;
$/7
/
I7
.F
3L
12
4
=7
A>.
6
6/
6/
G
38
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/2 $2.
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23
78
D"$ /7J
$E
20
9.
10
D.
01
1>
$/7
$
./
C2
8
$/7
$7
C2
38
-.
>.
8B
7/
M7
>7
<7
C2

27. My Research Questions
• How and why do Talk pages vary?
• What do Wikipedians (and readers) do on
Talk pages? What tasks are they used for?*
• Can we add structure to make pages “fit”
how editors and readers use them?
*volunteers
needed

28. Can we add structure?
Sure!

29. Adding structure
• Categorize comments (authors or crowd)
• Add semantic RDFa markup
• Pull it out with JavaScript (or SPARQL)
- highlight comments about a user’s own edit

30. Structure could help!
• “Show all comments mentioning a source
outside Wikipedia” (including non-
hyperlinked ones)
• Transclude requests for information to the
Wikipedia Reference Desk for a topic
• Make archives more readable/usable

31. How do you want to be
attributed in research
papers? (username/IP
address? URL to page?
something else?)
What about making
Talk pages “fit”
Wikipedians’ uses?

32. article stage, background
(reader, new editor,
Wikipedian), ongoing vs.
new conversations,
watchlist...
{{Volunteers
needed}}
• Informal interviews about Talk pages
• Evaluate the next version of my tool
• Comment & ask questions!

33. Dublin 2006
http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/feb2006/graf_tag_dub_feb_06_09.jpg

34. Academic Researchers
& Wikipedia
• The State of Wikimedia Scholarship
2009-2010: WikiSym and Beyond
Sunday 11:30 - 12:15
• Academic Researchers in
Wikimedia Communities: Ethics,
Methods & Policies
Sunday 12:15 - 1
</shamelessplug>

35. Thanks!
http://jodischneider.com/
en:Jodi.a.schneider
acawiki.org:Jodi.a.schneider
twitter: @jschneider
jschneider@pobox.com
With appreciation to my funders!
- Science Foundation Ireland
- WikiMedia scholarship fund